Gear shift for toy steering wheels



Jan. 8, 1952 L. SOLOMON 2,581,976

' GEAR sr-mv'f FOR TOY STEERING WHEELS Filed Feb. 1; 1950 law; SB/02 .ZMW

Patented Jan. 8, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GEAR SHIFT FOR TOYSTEERING WHEELS- Louis solomon, Chicago, Ill. Application February 1,1950, Serial No. 141,800

1 Claim.

This is an improvement on the gear shift on the toy set forth in myPatent No. 2,486,219 of October 25, 1949 on Toy Steering Wheel and GearShift.

Among the objects of my invention is to provide an improved gear shiftconstruction for a toy removably attachable to the instrument panel ofan automobile so as to simulate the steering and gear shifting of theautomobile, without danger to the car or the user of the toy.

A child greatly enjoys imitating the movements'of his father in drivingan automobile. It is always a great temptation for the child to takehold of the steering wheel and thus possibly cause injury and damage.With my devicethe child may copy the movements of his father or otherdriver in both.steering the car and in shifting of the gears. This willsatisfy the childs desire for play, and at the same time afford himinstruction, to some degree, in driving.

My toy is also adapted to be attached to other surfaces such as a bathtub, so that the child may imagine that he is driving a motor boat withdesired turns and gear shiftings. My toy may also be removably attachedto the floor so that the child may stand and imagine he is driving atractor. There are other uses for my toy, of a similar nature, which mayafford the child safe play and constructive education.

My improved gear shift has its construction housed within the hub ratherthan my previous construction which was attached to the exterior ofthehub by a strap.

My invention also contemplates such other objects, advantages andcapabilities which will later more fully appear, and which areinherently posses's'ed by my invention.

While I have shown in the attached drawings preferred embodiments of myinvention, yet it is to be understood that the same are susceptible ofinodiflcation and change without departing from the'spirit of myinvention.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, Fig." l is a sideelevational view of my steering wheel with the post broken away; Fig. 2is a front elevational view; Fig. 3 is a detailed section-Iv-iewonline.3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of the hub with the capremoved to show the shifting means; Fig. 5 is a detailed sectional viewon line 5-5 of Fig. 4 and Fig. 6 is a sectional view of the disassembledparts shown therein.

Referring now to the embodiment selected to illustrate my invention, Iprovide a steering wheel II, circular in shape and having spaced spokes2 II. The hub I2 has a reduced portion I3 with an opening I4 therein toremovably receive the upper end of post I5. The lower end of post I5 isremovably fitted in opening I6 of upper portion I! of suction cup I8.

There is an opening I9 between the bottom of hub I2 and the reducedportion I3 surrounded by a circumferential flange 20. A disc 2I has araised central portion 22, so that when disc 2| is positioned againstflange 20, central portion 22 is within opening I9. A coiled spring 23is placed on the legs 24 of cotter pin 25 and a metal washer 26 is alsopositioned on said legs 24 at the top of coiled spring 23. The legs 24exten through a central opening 21 in disc 2 I.

A gear shift lever 28 has a knob 29 on the outer end of rod 30. Theinner end of rod 30 extends through slot 3| in the side wall of hub I2into the interior of hub I2. Adjacent the inner end of rod 30 there is ahole 32 through which extend the legs 24 of cotter pin 25. The legs 24are peened over to hold the inner end of said rod 30 within hub I2.

Extending upwardly from the floor 33 of hub I2 are spaced partitions orstops 34 and 35 and opposite thereto spaced partitions 36 and 31. Rod 30in one position bears against partitions 34 and 31 and when moved as faras possible in the opposite direction bears against partitions 35 and36. Between partitions 34 and 35 and also between partitions 36 and 31the floor 33 of hub I2 has a pair of spaced raised portions or knobs 38which temporarily resist the movement of rod 30 and which may beover-ridden by the exertion of greater force on rod 30, thus simulatingthe feeling to the user of shifting from one gear to another.

A cap 39 is adapted to close the open top of hub I2 and to be removablyheld in position by integral spaced clip members 40 on the hub. Acollapsible bellows M is positioned within the hub I2 and is contactedby a downwardly extending portion of cap 39.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

A gear shift for a toy steering wheel adapted to be removably attachedto any substantially flat surface of sufficient area to receive it,comprising a wheel having a hub, said hub having a floor, an open topand side walls with an opening therethrough, a gear shift lever with itsinner portion extending through said opening into said hub, said gearshift lever having a hole therethrough adjacent its inner end, a discpositioned below the floor of said hub, a cotter pin having a pair oflegs extending through said disc and 3 said floor of said hub, a coiledspring mounted on said cotter pin below the floor of said hub, the legsof said cotter pin extending through said hole in said gear shift leverand peened over on said gear shift lever, a pair of upper and lowerstops extending above said floor of said hub positioned at an angleopposite another pair of upper and lower stops extending above saidfloor of said hub so that the gearshift in one extreme position bearsagainst the lower stop of one pair and the upper stop of the other pair,and in the other extreme position bears against the lower stop of onepairiand the upper stop of the other pair, said floor having a pair ofraised portions between each pair of upper and lower stops-over l5REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent: V

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,566,285 Ruthenburg Dec. 22,1925 2,171,953- Seaholm Sept. 5, 1939 2,334,421 Leach Nov. 16, 1943

